Actress claims Silvio Berlusconi 'helped her find God'

A glamorous actress who claims she helped organise Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi's infamous 'bunga bunga' parties has revealed how he 'helped
her get closer to God'.

Image 1 of 2

Italian actress Sabina Began

Image 1 of 2

Sabina Began starring in TV series 'Il Falco E La Colomba'Photo: REX

By Nick Pisa, Rome

4:05PM BST 28 May 2011

Sabina Began, 36, who calls herself the "Queen Bee", said that she only arranged the parties because Mr Berlusconi, 74, was "lonely".

The phrase "bunga bunga" is said to refer to a crude after dinner sex game played at the parties and Miss Began's claims that he helped her find religion have raised eyebrows.

Miss Began, who has a tattoo dedicated to Mr Berlusconi on her ankle, said: "He is a very spiritual man. He has helped me to find faith as well. He is a believer and thanks to him I have become religious as well.

"He loves God, he speaks to God. He is a man of faith and his home is decorated with crucifixes. He is a beautiful person, a person of faith, a true believer. He is very spiritual and he has put me on a spiritual path."

Miss Began's claims on an Italian radio show were met with incredulity by the programme's host who asked her several times: "Your joking, right? You can't be serious."

Church chiefs have been shocked by the events which are said to have unfolded at Mr Berlusconi's villa and his staff have been working behind the scenes to patch up relations with the Catholic heirarchy.

But Miss Began insisted she was telling the truth and that events at Mr Berlusconi's bunga bunga parties at his home in Arcore near Milan had been exaggerated.

Mr Berlusconi is due in court next week as the trial for paying for sex with an underage prostitute resumes, but has already confirmed he will not be able to attend as he is on official government business in Bucharest.

Miss Began added: "He is a very dear friend. We speak all the time, every day, I adore him, I love him. He is such a warm and friendly person always willing to help anyone out.

"He used to give his mobile number to everyone so they could call him if they needed help but now he doesn't use one anymore because of everything that's happened.

"People like to listen to him because he tells funny stories, but he works very hard day and night and has a very sunny outlook on life. He once asked me if I would still like him in a wheelchair when he was old.

"I told him that I would be more than happy to push his wheelchair for him. Nothing sexual happened at these parties I organised, they were just for fiends and there was eating, singing and dancing, nothing else."

Miss Began left Germany as a young woman before working in Italian show business for a decade, and added that she had been given an acting role in one of his numerous TV shows after meeting him in 2003.